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Accolades

Posted May 1, 2006

Academe

The University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine recently honored five alumni with the Distinguished Alumnus Award, and one alumnus with the Young Achiever Award.

Dr. Stephen L. Bowen (GA '71) served for three years in the U.S. Army Medical Corps. Since 1982, he has owned and operated the Valley Veterinary Clinic in El Centro, Calif. Dr. Bowen uses his personal time to promote the veterinary profession to more than a million members of the Boy Scouts.

Dr. Billy D. Connolly (GA '66) established the Gwinnett Animal Hospital in Georgia in 1973. Along with a special interest in surgery, Dr. Connolly is trained in veterinary chiropractic, acupuncture, and homeopathy. As a result, his small animal and equine patients have received holistic treatments as well as more traditional care. He devotes time to kennel club programs.

Dr. James R. McClearen (GA '74) opened Bells Ferry Veterinary Hospital in 1984. At the hospital, Dr. McClearen treats dogs, cats, birds, small mammals, exotics, wildlife, and large animals, and helped establish two emergency clinics. He has worked with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources to treat and release injured wildlife, and he treats animals at Zoo Atlanta. Dr. McClearen is District VII director of the Georgia VMA.

Dr. Lee M. Myers (GA '84) is the state veterinarian and assistant commissioner of animal industry for the Georgia Department of Agriculture. A registered lobbyist, she helped amend the state Veterinary Practice Act and lobbied for the creation of a statewide dog and cat sterilization program in Georgia. She has provided assistance to the UGA veterinary college by establishing a public service externship for students and helping to conduct a feasibility study for a school of public health at UGA. She is a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine.

Dr. Al W. Stinson (GA '56) is professor emeritus at Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine. In addition to teaching thousands of young veterinarians, Dr. Stinson has helped raise $1 million for research on purebred dogs and has lobbied on behalf of pet owners. He has served in the U.S. Army Medical Service Corps. Along with MSU, he has taught at the veterinary colleges at Cornell University and the University of Minnesota.

Also of note, Dr. Leigh E. Glerum (GA '96) earned the Young Achiever Award. A former surgical resident at UGA, Dr. Glerum joined Veterinary Surgical Associates in San Mateo, Calif., as an associate surgeon in 2000. Two years later, she became a full partner. Her partners in the three hospitals have high regard for her business abilities. She is a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons.

At the Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, Dr. Katrin Hinrichs, professor of veterinary physiology and pharmacology, was named the first Patsy Link Chair in Mare Reproductive Studies. The chair is part of an endowment established in 1995 by H. Patsy Link to support equine programs at Texas A&M.

Dr. Hinrichs received her DVM degree in 1978 from the University of California-Davis. Dr. Hinrichs is head of the college's Equine Embryo Laboratory. She holds a joint appointment in the Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences and is a diplomate of the American College of Theriogenologists. Her research centers on the physiology of the oocyte and fertilization in horses.